The 100 best companies for veterans

The list highlights companies that have enacted corporate-recruiting programs aimed at veterans.

While USAA has made the Top 100 list every year since 2003, this was the first time it earned the number one ranking. Photo: Shutterstock)

Veterans searching for civilian jobs may find one at insurance provider USAA, which heads this year’s rankings of the Top 100 Military Friendly Employers.

Released by G.I. Jobs, the list highlights companies that have enacted corporate-recruiting programs aimed at veterans. The rankings are based on several factors, including veteran recruiting efforts, recruiting results, number of years on the list, Guard and Reserve policies, and retention and internal programs.

While USAA has made the Top 100 list every year since 2003, this was the first time it earned the number one ranking, which CEO Joe Robles called a huge honor.

"What the number one designation means to me is that all our employees have pulled together to make USAA a good place for veterans to come and work," Robles said.

Several initiatives at USAA received recognition, including its Combat to Claims program, which trains young, post-9/11 veterans to become claims adjustors.

"The reason the program is working so well is because military folks have such a sense of discipline and order, and they deal with many of the things and skills that claims people do every day," Robles said.

Other companies making this year's Top 10 Military Friendly Employers are:

Since 2003, the rankings’ first year, the average percentage of veterans hired by companies on the list has grown by 138 percent, while the average number of full-time military recruiters has grown by 68 percent. In addition, military-recruiting budgets have grown 268 percent in the decade since the rankings were first released.

Veterans can visit MilitaryFriendly.com to view the entire list or get details on individual companies based on specific criteria, such as location or number of military members currently employed there.